U.S. says Russian missiles may embolden Syria's Assad

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - A Russian shipment ofanti-ship missiles to Syria could embolden President Basharal-Assad's forces and prolong the conflict, the top U.S.military officer said on Friday.

"It's at the very least an unfortunate decision that willembolden the regime and prolong the suffering, so it's ill-timedand very unfortunate," General Martin Dempsey, chairman of theJoint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon.

Dempsey said he was referring specifically to the anti-shipmissiles, which Reuters reported earlier on Friday had been sentby Russia to Syria.